Africa-Press – Cape verde. The cyclists Eliezer, do Sal, Patrick da Praia and Nélio de São Vicente were the winners of the elite category (seniors) of the second edition of the Sprint Praia, placing, respectively, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd position. The competition was organized by SITA in partnership with the Regional Cycling Association of Santiago Sul and also rewarded competitors in the veteran and youth categories.
A total of 52 athletes participated in the 2nd Edition of Sprint Praia, a cycling event that took place during the morning on the straight at Praia airport.
In the main category, elite, the athletes had to complete 11 laps, under a strong sun and some wind.
The cyclists Eliezer, do Sal, Patrick da Praia and Nélio de São Vicente were the winners of that category, in this second edition of the Sprint Praia, placing, respectively, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd position. Nélio was still in 1st position on the podium in the youth category.
Happy athletes, but ask for more evidence to develop cycling
In an interview with A NAÇÃO online Eliezer, who competes in Praia for the first time, was a man of few words, due to fatigue, but he was very happy to have won the title.
“I trained a lot, prepared with eight races…I did a lot of kilometers. The best cyclists in Cape Verde are here,” he said. The biggest motivation for the victory, he said, is to one day be able to represent Cape Verde abroad.
“I train every day in the hot sun. my coach is one of the most experienced in Cape Verde and he gave me an excellent training plan and I follow it and that’s why I dedicate a large part of my victory to him”.
Patrick athlete from Praia, who was riding at home, and was in 2nd position, said it was “a good race” and that the “wind didn’t help”, but he was happy for the race. The cyclist said that, in his opinion, to further develop the sport in the country, “more teams and competitions” are needed to increase competitiveness.
Nélio, an athlete from São Vicente, who came to defend the title of the 2021 edition of the competition, was equally satisfied, although his goals were other than third place.
“I came for the win. The race was difficult, but as they say it is always harder to defend a title than to compete for the first time. So this year I came to defend the title, but I believe I did a race with an extremely positive balance, me and all my colleagues from São Vicente (so to speak). I want to congratulate Eliezer, from Sal, who had a huge performance”, he said. Next year he promises to return “with the same determination” to try to defend the title he won in 2021.
For the future, he says he has the prospects that most Cape Verdean cyclists have, that is, having an opportunity to “leave Cape Verde to compete”.
In order to develop cycling in the country, in the same vein as Patrick said, he defends “constant evidence”, so that cyclists don’t just give up on themselves in training, because it must be “training and competing” for results.
The competition was organized by SITA in partnership with the Regional Cycling Association of Santiago Sul and also rewarded competitors in the veteran and youth categories.
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